1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of demolding and finishing a green body of a vessel-shaped piece of sanitary ware, such as a washbasin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Slip casting is a method which is widely employed for molding a vessel-shaped piece of sanitary ware, such as a washbasin. A shortened molding cycle is achieved by casting a slip under pressure into a porous mold and drawing water out of the slip into the pores of the mold.
There is known a process which employs a molding apparatus as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C to eliminate the labor and equipment for closing and opening each mold. This method employs a multiplicity of vertically disposed molds 100 which are horizontally movably juxtaposed, and a single pressure cylinder 102 for closing and pressurizing all of the molds 100 together, so that a slip may be cast into the cavity of each mold.
The slip can be cast simultaneously into all of the molds 100. The work after casting, including the demolding of each green body 104 and its finishing, such as deburring and boring, is, however, done manually by a worker. After each mold 100 has been opened, the green body 104 is manually demolded, and placed on an appropriately positioned pallet 106. Then, the pallet 106 is delivered onto a rotary table 110 and the green body 104 is deburred and bored (108) by hand tools, while the table 110 is manually rotated.
The green body 104 as molded is soft and liable to damage, and calls for the utmost care in its handling. Its finishing involves its complicated movement. Therefore, the demolding and finishing of the green body 104 has been difficult to accomplish mechanically or automatically and has had to be manually done. The manual demolding and finishing of the green body, however, take labor and time, and are an obstacle to an automatic process for manufacturing a green body of sanitary ware.